Read the full article which is published on Philosophy Bits (external link)A sudden and unexpected change in our circumstances can leave us feeling distressed. We thought we knew what our lives would be and we made plans on that basis, but now everything is uncertain. We became comfortable in our routines and habits, only to find that we are now overwhelmed by anxiety and stress.
Without our knowledge, we formed a deep attachment to beliefs about the status quo. We took its regularity for granted, and it now feels like a promise has been broken. We were promised consistency but we received chaos instead. Deep down, we might have known nothing was ever certain, but we never expected to face a change of this magnitude.
Attachment is so nefarious precisely because it easily goes unnoticed. We quietly become accustomed to a certain way of life and we fail to realize we are also becoming more rigid and resistant to movement. But the world will move and it will sometimes do so without warning. To be forced to move again after a long period of dormancy is necessarily shocking and suffering immediately follows — in this case, as anxiety and stress.
Poststructuralism as a Regime of Truth: Foucault and the Paradox of Philosophical Authority
Foucault’s critique of power and knowledge shaped poststructuralism, yet its rejection of truth risks becoming its own orthodoxy. To remain...
